Construction on Sudro Hall began in September 1959 as the first step in an extensive building and improvement program. The State Legislature appropriated $550,000 for the building and the University received a grant of $125,000 from the Health Research Facilities Division of the National Institutes of Health to cover construction costs. The completed building opened in September 1960. The School of Pharmacy, originally housed in the chemistry building and Francis Hall, moved into Sudro Hall in 1961. The Pharmacy program began at the University (then Agricultural College) in 1902 when North Dakota became the fourth state in the in the nation to require pharmacists, those wishing to become registered pharmacists, to graduate from a school of pharmacy (Fargo Forum, May 10 1959; The Dedication of Sudro Hall, Sunday, October 8, 1961).
The building was three-stories measuring 65 feet by 180 feet and provided the School of Pharmacy with over 35,000 square feet of space. A greenhouse, measuring 16 feet by 38 feet, was attached to the building's south side. The ground floor provided space for the pharmaceutical chemistry laboratories and offices as well as the manufacturing pharmacy laboratories and offices. The main floor housed the administrative offices, student study area and the Department of Pharmacy. The second floor provided space for the Departments of Pharmacy Administration, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology and a museum (Dedication of Sudro Hall).
By the mid 1960s, the School of Pharamacy was pressed for space. Increased enrollment, additional programs, research needs and graduate study put a strain on Sudro Hall. Predicted enrollment was 600 by 1975 and new instructors would also be needed and a campaign began to raise money for an addition to the building. The campaign needed to raise $150,000 and have the State Legislature match those funds in order to receive $300,000 in matching federal funds. The campaign was successful and a two-story addition was added to the existing structure of Sudro Hall. The first floor contained two large lecture halls with seating capacities of 144 and 252 students as well as ten offices. The second floor contained four additional classrooms as well as seven more offices. Today (2001), Sudro Hall is undergoing another addition that will add 40,000 square feet.
Sudro
Hall is named for William F. Sudro, Dean of the School of Pharamacy (1926-1955)
and faculty member for forty-eight years. Sudro was born on November 15, 1884
in Elyria, Ohio. After graduating from high school he attended the University
of Illinois before transferring to the University of Michigan where he graduated
from in 1906. In 1907, Sudro came to the AC as an instructor and as an assistant
chemist in the food and drug commissioners office. He worked closely with Dr.
E. F. Ladd and helped with the analysis of food and beverages consumed by the
American people. Besides analyzing food and beverages, Sudro worked on drug
regulation and examined nearly all the legitimate and illegitimate drugs on
the market. His work with the pure food and drug laws did not stop him from
continuing his education. Sudro received his Master of Science degree from the
University of Wisconsin in 1918. When the School of Pharmacy separated from
the School of Chemistry in 1919, Sudro was chosen to be its director and, in
1926, he was appointed Dean of the School of Pharmacy and remained in this position
until his retirement in 1955. Under his direction, the Pharmacy program became
a four-year program and the school added a graduate program. Dean Sudro died
in 1957 after a long struggle with declining health.
Architectural Information
Harold E. Bechtel, architect.
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |